Finding My Homebase
by Neon Lions
Summary: Riley Covington's just docked her boat at the LaPush beach to take a break and see her brother. Little does she know that her abusive father is residing with her brother as well. After a run in with a certain wolf, can she be persuaded to stay in LaPush? and if she can, just how safe will she be? An imprint story.
1. Chapter 1

-Somewhere in the Pacific-

"You mean you can't tell me when you're arriving?"

I rolled my eyes at my big brother's whining. "No, Zach, I can't, I use paper maps, so just take my estimate and roll with it," I teasingly paused "Well, if you're cool enough to roll with it."

"You suck," he sighed. Just by his tone I could tell he was scowling and potentially pinching the bridge of his nose. "Riley," he let out an audible sigh and changed the subject. "How's the Cressida doing?"

I raised my eyebrow, Zach wanted something. He doesn't know a thing about sail boats, and I doubt he wanted to know anything about my sailboat. "She's fine," I stretched out the 'i' "Why do you ask?"

He snorted before replying "I'm asking because you've sailed a freakin' few thousand miles on that thing, I'm surprised it hasn't turned to dust."

I grinned "I'm loyal to my girl, Zach. You'll see a sublime sight at the La Push Docks in a few hours."

"Very well. Goodbye dear sister."

I mocked his droning and replicated his farewell, zipping my phone back into a plastic bag and shoved it into my pocket. As my thoughts about my upcoming arrival flooded my mind, I became.. content.

Maybe I'd find my homebase.

-a few hours later-

I was sailing Cressida right off the coast of the La Push beach, but I couldn't find the dock. 'God damn,' i muttered and started scanning the shoreline again. La Push really was beautiful; the forests were vast and lush and the cliffs sharp and violent. The Quileutes really took good care of their land.

My eyes finally caught on the fairwood dock, the wood having weathered the color out of it, almost blending in with the sand. I jogged to the stern of the boat and turned the tiller so the sail caught onto the wind and began progressing forward.

As the boat sailed closer I began making out three figures standing on the dock, the longer I looked the more people I started seeing. "Do these people have nothing better to do than watch me?" I wondered aloud.

"Well, at least they're getting a good look while they can."

I approached the dock and pulled my anchor out. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a few freakishly tall natives. After noticing this dock would be a tight fit for Cressida I shouted out for them "Hey forest men, grab the ropes piled by the sides and start knotting them to eat pole!"

It took them a second to process that I was referring to them, but three of them hopped on and came to my aid.

One of them, turned out to be a girl. Oops, maybe I should've said mountain men and women.

Soon enough my boat was anchored and docked, meaning my journey was taking a much needed pause. I turned to the towering giant-people and gave a nod of thanks. Something must be in the water for them to grow that tall.

One of the guys stopped on the dock, offering me a hand to step off my boat. I took his hand and looked up at him. Man, they're tall! The guy looked down and smirked "Hello down there."

Another guy chuckled and grabbed ' 's' arm. "Come on Paul, you don't want to be the last one to Em's, do you?" My hand was immediately let go and the vertically gifted boys began sprinting, it appeared aimlessly. The girl who helped he however was taking her time following them, even glancing at her nails for a moment.

I forced my eyes away from the strange people and my eyes settled on an identical set of eyes. Zach's eyes.

I hadn't seen anything familiar in the past year, so seeing his small, almost unimpressed smile, was heartwarming. Zach walked towards me ruffled my hair. "It's been a long time, little wolf," he greets. An alarm went off in my head again. First he was nice and then he greeted me with my pet name. He did want something." While I had no clue what he wanted, I was going to milk this opportunity for all it's worth.

"Zachary, carry my bags!"

He narrowed his eyes slightly and sighed "You're staying here out of the goodness of my heart, carry your own bags Riley-Anne."

I kicked the back of his knees but continued to carry my bags. God damn it.

The walk to Zachary's home was continued in silence up until the house became in sight. "So, Riley, you're..you're not the family I have at my home, don't freak out," he warned me.

A laugh escaped me, making Zach's face contort strangely while I giggled "Is this your way of telling me you have a SO?" a snort escaped me.

"No Riley, my significant other is in Toronto," he ran his hand through his short prickly black hair. "Just brace yourself."

He opened the door to him home and shouted inside "Hey, me and Riley are home!"

I looked around the house, the spotlessness of the house didn't go past my notice. "Zachary, you cleanfreak, you," I teased.

Zach looked at the ceiling, a bored look on his face. "Will you hurry up and show your face?" he impatiently complains aloud.

This confused me until I saw who was walking down the stairs.

Wayne.

"What is he doing here?" my face hardened and my shoulders tensed.

"Riley-Anne, is that anyway to greet your Daddy?" Wayne feigned hurt and laughed. "Come here and give me a hug!"

Instead I took three steps back. "Stay the holy heck away from me you sick bastard," the coldness of my sneer surprised even me. "Don't think I won't call the cops on your fat ass."

"Please, Riley, Dad, behave," Zach positioned himself between the two of us. "Dad, I will throw you out. Riley, you have no evidence of what he did to you. If either of you want to stay in this house you'll have to NOT disturb my peace, I'm a very busy man."

Was Zach really letting Dad slide for everything he did to me? The thought was making my blood boil. How dare he! This was betrayal of the highest caliber. "You're siding with Dad?!" I walked right up to Zach and slapped him with as much force as my 5'3 frame would let me. "He abused me. I can't believe you wouldn't tell me he would be here!"

Before I knew what was happening I felt my back slap the hard wood and my head lash back. Pain shot through my bones and I hissed, feeling fury shoot through my veins.

"You know what? I'm leaving. I WON'T take this."

I felt the angry glare of my father burning my back, but I didn't care.

I kicked the door open and jogged out, my eyes wet with angry tears. What I really needed was a run before I made my escape on my confining Cressida.

There was a large tree hugging the edge of the wood, and after a brief contemplation I decided it was memorable enough to find again.

I stashed my bag behind the tree and took off in a fast sprint.

The thing I liked about running was that nobody could stop you from doing it, running is freedom, and that's what I've been chasing for the past 13 months on my boat. While I was running minutes turned into seconds and feet turned into inches. 'Leaving'll be good for you Riley, you just fought the man. Be proud, that's more than you did the last time you saw him."

I started noticing the path I was taking was going more rural, kinda like the mountain paths in Peru or like something in District 12. Now that I thought about it, I haven't seen any English movies in over a year. The next Hunger Games movie had to be out by now, maybe I'll see it in a few months when I stop by Hawaii. My inner monologue had distracted me, by the time I stopped I had no clue where the heck I was. Huh, just your luck Covington.

My head was cooling down after the run, quite literally too. A light sprinkle was starting, urging me to turn around, get my bag, and crash in my boat cabin tonight. The urge was probably the safest option, so I turned around and descended down the downward slope of the path I was on. I looked up at the sky and watched it's shade morph from a silver to an intimidating grey.

I again lost myself in my thoughts and my foot caught on a jutting out piece of rock. I tumbled forward, getting a good scrape across the knee.

God damn it.

The cut didn't look too deep, but there was blood and it definitely didn't feel pleasant.

"Are you okay?" a voice worried.

I turned my head and saw one of those giant human skyscraper guys, but he wasn't any of the ones I'd seen before. "I should be fine, can you help me up?" I waited about half a second before he was by my side. He bent down and took a look at my mis-fortunate wound. "I think you've sprained this," his eyebrows furrowed. "I'm going to take you to my Mom, she'll help."

The jolly russet giant wrapped his arms around my back and around the bottom of my knees. I winced when he picked me up, not liking the pressure on my knee. "sorry," he quickly apologizes.

"I need to grab my bag, it's by a tree somewhere down there," I protested. "If you can take me to my bag, I'll be able to make it to my boat." The guy's eyebrows raised "You're the boat-girl? People have been speculating who you are. So far there's hippie and spoiled college kid." He looked at me, expecting an answer.

"I'm not a hippie, I like fighting back to much, and I'm not in college yet," I didn't want to tell him too much. After all, he could be like Christian Bale in the American Psycho and if that is the case, I'll live longer by not spilling my story.

The guy stopped and bent down so he could open the door to what I assume is his house. While he looked mature, his eyes were young, I could buy that he was in high school still so that would explain why he lived with his Mom. "Ma casa es su casa," he welcomes. He stooped through the door and walked into his living room, setting me down on his couch.

"One second," he promises and leaves the room.

The house looked normal enough. No blood stains. No obvious weapons scattered around the room. There's hope for him, yet.

The guy walked back into the room, a frown on his face and bandages in his hand. "Sorry, my Mom's not here, she's probably working tonight, but I'm gonna try to wrap this up for you."

He sat down on the couch by me and placed my hurt knee over his lap. "So, what's your name?" he asked. Well, that question was harmless enough.

"I'm Riley."

"How old are you?" he asked, taking the anti-bacterial wipes and wiping the cut clean.

"Are we going to play 20 questions?" I chuckled at his expense.

"18? 19?" he guesses.

"More like 16," I correct.

The guy placed a bandage over my knee. "but you sailed here!" He sounded like he was almost debating my age.

"I'm emancipated and take online school," I briefly explain. Why was he asking all these questions? I'm leaving tomorrow, though he wouldn't know that. The guy finished patching up my leg by putting a wrap around my knee. I looked up at him and saw a smile on his face. He stood up and smiled at me. "I hope you like LaPush."

I shrugged, feeling kinda awkward. "It's okay, I'll be..." I stopped. I didn't want to offend him by saying I was leaving the day I arrived. "I'll be walking to the beach tomorrow."

The guy looked at me weird "Haven't you been by the water for a while?" What was it with people looking at me weird.

A yawn escaped my lips, causing him to give me a small smile. "You should get some rest Riley."

I nod, completely agreeing with him.

He stood up and shut the lamp light off. "Night Riley."

Right before the guy walked around the corner I realized I didn't know his name.

"Hey, you, who even are you?" I asked, hoping my voice was loud enough.

The guy stuck his head out from around the corner.

"Oh yeah! I'm Seth, Seth Clearwater."


	2. Chapter 2

-Seth's house-?some time when it's still dark out?-

I winced at the sudden appearance of a harsh white light in the room adjoining the one I was in. My eyes quickly scanned the room to remember where I was. I had a hard time figuring it out until I saw the guy sleeping shirtless in the overstuffed recliner chair next to the couch.

Gosh I needed a better morning memory; his name is Seth not 'that guy'.

Seth appeared not to be bothered by change in darkness and was in a death like sleep. I wondered what got him so tired.

Did we have sex? The thought seemed legitimate as he was catatonic and I didn't remember anything.

Wait- I replayed yesterday, an activity that woke my sleepy brain up. We definitely didn't have sex because if we did,

I would have remembered.

"SETH CLEARWATER!" an angry voice yelled. I heard stiff footsteps walking closer, causing me to sit up straight and pull the blanket I didn't remember retrieving up to my chin. Seth's eyes fluttered a little, but he went relaxed with sleep again almost immediately after.

A small dark haired woman entered the scene, she looked at me with a distasteful eye and pursed lips. "Where are you clothes?" she asked.

Huh?

The woman turned towards Seth and leaned closer "SETH HENRY CLEARWATER YOU WAKE UP RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

Seth shot up, looking around just as I did before settling on the woman "Oh, hi Mom," he rubbed the back of his neck and tried to stifle an incoming yawn.

So that woman was his mother, hmm, he must look more like his Father then.

His Mom didn't looked pleased with him and opened her mouth again "Seth, would you mind telling me what a naked girl is doing on the couch?"

Naked girl? I looked down at myself. God damn, I should stop wearing shorts and singlets. The 'blanket' I had pulled to my chin was actually a large sweatshirt that covered me just enough to hide my shorts.

"Seth I think I'm gonna-" I tried to take my exit cue but she cut me off and looked at Seth, expecting an answer.

He groaned "Mom, nothing happened and she's not naked."

She apparently didn't believe him because the next thing she did was pull his sweatshirt off me.

"ooh cold air, cold air," I muttered, pulling my knees to my chest and grabbing the sweatshirt.

Seth's mother didn't like my short pieces of clothing "Mom, let's go to my room to talk," Seth sheepishly stood up, stopping to turn around and assure me

"I'll be right back."

I had to leave, like, right now. His mother thought I was Seth's one night stand. Did that mean Seth often had one night stands and she was just angry it was still happening or that Seth has never had a one night stand and his mother didn't like that it would have happened on her couch?

I crawled off the couch and tip-toed to the door. Was I really having a walk of shame? Come on, I didn't even sleep with him!

My shoes were conveniently at the door, so I slipped them on and then slipped out the door. My pace was brisk so they wouldn't be able to see me from the front door.

I guess it was time to retrieve my bag from that tree.

-an hour later-

I had finally found my bag after much walking around by the skirt of the wood.

Easy to find, HA. Easy to find, my ass.

A positive attribute of searching for my bag was not having to worry about everything being wet. All my bags were waterproof, a trait I thought would only be protecting it's contents from salt water, but I'm glad it helped me out last night with the pouring rain.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and made my way back towards my boat. Cressida and I had been through a lot and she would always be there to help me.

Why did Zach think I needed to get a new boat? For one, it's not like either of us had a spare 30 grand lying around, and for another she didn't look bad at all! In fact I love her for her scratches. If other guys considered girls the way I considered my boat I think the world would be a better more sensitive place.

Once inside my boat I shut the door and tossed my bag onto the bed, quickly unzipping it and sifting for a fresh pair of clothes.

The trouble with being around salt water all the time is that you can't reuse clothes, they get stiff and crusty, so the majority of my money went into buying clothing on my way there.

Upon a few minutes of searching, I gave up and went over to my safe to take out a Benjamin Franklin. After I took the bill out, I shut my very bare looking safe and zipped up my dirty clothing bag, slipping the strap over my chest, and climbed off the boat.

God damn, I guess I'm going to have to work for a day or two.

Most of the money I earned was from doing odd jobs or really fun spur of the moment things, like by winning a study abroad scholarship by hula dancing and hula hooping at the same time.

So the fact that I'd have to do a cashier job, or something along that line, sucked. I hope, wherever I work, that I don't have to see that guy I ditched today.

Seth.

I neared a shop-looking like place and decided it looked good enough.

I mean, he was cute, don't get me wrong, but I just think it'd be painful on both ends since his mom now sees me as a ho. Plus it couldn't go anywhere with me leaving in a day or two.

Heck, I could even leave tomorrow morning if I worked the night shift somewhere tonight. This shop looked fine, I'll see if they'll hire me for the night.

As my eyes scanned the room for a t-shirt, I came to the realization that I picked the wrong place to find clothes. The closest thing they had was a children's sweatshirt lying on the register counter, and I doubted that was for sale.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" the cashier looked up from her book, looking somewhat relieved that she had something to do.

As a matter of fact I am.

"Uh, yes. Do you have any clothes I could buy? Mine smell like sweat and salt."

Her nose wrinkled, either from the smell wafting off my current clothes or from imagining the smell my other clothes gave off.

"We don't..." she pinched her chin in thought "but if you drive 10 minutes to Forks there's a laundromat you can use."

"Perfect, thanks," I gave her a small smile and turned around-

only to smack right into yet another tall guy.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized. This guy wasn't Seth, but he was one of the guys helping me with my boat.

I waved him away, it was my fault I ran into him, and left the store, starting my run. If Forks was 10 minutes away by car, then I think I would get there in 20 minutes by running.

Starting to run is the 2nd best part of running, it's fun to be able to run as fast as I can and not lose energy, but the real gem is when you reach your pace. A runner's pace is when they reach the pace they feel they can just continue forever. That's the pace that gets people addicted to running.

Any other pace for more than 2 miles is freakin' ridiculous.

I could tell I was leaving the reservation because there was a huge "Come back soon!" sign. I didn't get tourism signs that said "Come back soon". By the end of a trip a place has either impressed a person, or it hasn't. It's too late to change their opinion with a sign.

From the little I've seen of La Push, I think it's beautiful. Just very uneventful and tame. I think that was the reason my mother left La Push; she couldn't tolerate not loving the beauty the other world had to offer.

I don't think I could stay here either. Half the point of traveling alone in High School is to find yourself so you can skip the frustrated drinking in college and I just haven't found myself.

My Dad's also here, and that's the other reason I chose to run or, more appropriately, sail away: to get away from my problems.

I guess La Push wouldn't be my final destination, that would be too painful in the long run.

Speaking of pain, a gnawing began clawing at my insides. I dug my nails into my palms but kept running. If I got to Forks soon I could make my clothes clean again and stock up on some food and drink.

That guy, Seth, he didn't give me any the other night. Then again, he was focused on my cut and it would have been rude to ask for anything more from a stranger.

I looked squinted up ahead, trying to see if any buildings were in sight.

There don't appea- wait, there's a man in the center of the road. God damn it, this isn't good.

I decided to make the proper judgement call and turn around now.

In a horror movie, this means that guy was going to kill me, and my gut was getting antsy too.

I wasn't going to be stupid.

With a pivot of my feet I turned around and started jogging to La Push.

Another day without clean clothes wasn't the end of the world. It's much better to be alive and-

I hunched over, the gnawing pain suddenly hitting me like a wave and eating me up. Something was wrong with me. I forced myself to sit up, but in the brief second I was able to bend up straight, I saw a person three feet in front of me

God damn it, he caught up.

Before I could get a good look at him, another wave of pain hit me in my gut. This wave crashing into me with a hair-pulling amplitude of pain; I felt my body crash to the ground. A few seconds before I lost consciousness I heard the man walk closer to me and felt him put his arm around me,

and lick his lips.


	3. Chapter 3

-Unknown location-

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to reveal myself to the girl, I wasn't," the voice stopped, giving a "hmm", as if searching for the correct word. "aware, that you ran things around here nonparallel to the rest of our world.

This unknown masculine voice confused me. I tried to regain my thoughts and went through my routine of drawing back on the former day's events.

"I believe our guest is waking," a new male voiced. How did he know?

I made the mistake of widening my eyes when I opened them, causing me to shut them quickly and open them more slowly. As my vision became clearer I saw two men, two beautiful men standing by the opposite ends of the coffee table in front of me. I was curled up in a soft grey leather arm chair, smelling sweet and like the perfume of a beautiful woman.

The man on the left side of the coffee table was tall, with fair consistently white skin and owning handsome Asian facial features. He gave me a small amused smile, like one would give a child playing with it's toy incorrectly.

My attention was called to the other man, the man with fair cornsilk blonde hair and skin jut as pale and chalky as the man on the left.

"Are you feeling any better?" He walked closer to me and squatted down, offering me a more genuine smile "You fainted while you were on a run, Riley. You were lucky this man was close enough to see it happen."

Another red alarm flashed in my mind. How did he know my name? I looked around the seat for my bag of clothes, which would have held my papers as well. I didn't see it around me, but I did see an IV sticking into my arm. My eyes ran down the tube until it found what was being injected through the IV bag: a clear bag.

"Umm, Thanks," I briefly drawled out, skipping straight to the multiple questions popping into my mind. "Is this a saline bag? If it is, that's very generous of you, but where did it come from?" The worry of getting a disease via a dirty needle popped into my brain. "Also, when you found me, was there a bag full of clothes and a twenty dollar bill near by?"

D. If I lost that twenty I'd have to go straight to work once this was over.

The blonde man shook his head "excuse me, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Carlisle Cullen." He stood up and offered me a hand. I looked at it for a moment, hesitant, thinking he was offering me a hand to shake. Instead, he pulled me gently up out of the arm chair.

"This is a saline bag," he confirms for me, showing me the label on the other side of the bag. "I gave you this because you were severely dehydrated." Carlisle motioned for me to follow him. I took the pole holding the IV and rolled it with me as I followed him towards the stairs. "I was able to administer this to you because I'm a doctor at the hospital in Forks." When we reached the stairs, he kindly took the IV pole and carried it for me as we climbed the steps, a gentlemanly gesture that made me trust him more. At the top of the stairs he stopped and turned to me "Are you doing alright, Riley?"

I raised my right eyebrow, he was my doctor at the moment.

"I mean, monetarily wise," he specified.

I thought about that "I suppose I'm doing fine. Right now I'm a bit low, but who isn't these days?"

"Do you have a place to stay? Sustenance?" Carlisle questions. "Your levels of blood sugar and water were abnormally low, as if you hadn't eaten for a few days."

I shrugged. "Things have been worse. Once I get my bag and the twenty I dropped I know I can get some clean clothes and a snack."

Carlisle started moving us forward again, stopping only two doors down the hallway and opened and held the door open for me. Inside was a brunette woman studying a blueprint at her elaborately carved wooden desk. She delicately set the blueprints down and turned to greet us.

"This is my wife, Esme. She found your bag of clothes and would love to talk to you," he introduced me.

Carlisle walked forward and gave Esme a kiss on the cheek and whispered something in her ear. He smile faltered a little after a moment and Carlisle pulled away.

"I have to go attend to my other guest downstairs, but I'm sure we'll see each other soon," he addressed me warmly,shutting the door on his way out.

Well Seth said something of the sort, but I snuck away. I wonder if I would get another chance to see Carlisle again.

Esme switched seats, going over to the couch against the other wall and patting the a space next to her. I awkwardly sat down next to her, not really sure what to say to a wife a guy who I met only a couple minutes ago.

"Riley, Carlisle tells me that you don't have a place to stay at night."

Esme looked at me such a concern it almost made me feel guilty when I told her: "I'm staying on my boat right now, and I'm planning to restock on food, I just need to work a shift somewhere so I can get some money for supplies and new clothes."

"My family has too much clothing, we'd be happy for you to take some," she offers, looking hopeful that I'd take some.

"That..actually sounds really great, thank you Esme," I smiled.

One things I've learned from traveling is that people are naturally good, so whenever people offer kindness and care, I take it as a sign to accept and share with others the gift I was given when I can.

-Two Days Later, nightfall -

I was back at my brother's house for the time being. The Cullen family- man, I don't know how they got to be that wealthy- they refilled my water proof bag with fresh clothing and offered to have someone do repairs on my boat and since I didn't wanna bother them by sleeping on their couch, I've given myself no choice but to stay with Zach and Wayne. I'm still thankful for running into them, though I'm still confused how that man I saw was able to get from half a mile down the road to right in front of me. When I told Carlisle, he brushed the time lapse off as an effect of fainting.

I had only just gotten to Zach's house a few hours ago, and I was thankful I was the only one home. After some detective work, and after hearing Zach's voice mail for his soon to be visiting girlfriend, I figured out that Zach and Wayne were gone on trip back home. For what and how long, they didn't say.

My ability to sit and do nothing didn't last more than an hour, so I decided to take a trip to the beach. The beach at La Push was freezing, making me wish I brought a jacket. No one was really on the beach except me because of the weather, but that was all good to me. I pulled my hood up and shoved my hands in my pockets; a vain attempt to keep me warm. The inside of the jackets smelt sweet, though different from Esme's floral like perfume. It must have been one of her daughter's. While I was there I never saw any of their children, which was a little weird. Carlisle had told me that all five of them were still in high school.

Up ahead, towards the end of the sand was a hill leading up to, what I could see, a bright fire. A fire sounds absolutely fantabulous, maybe the people sitting around it would let me sit too; that would be really great of them. We could exchange stories and laugh and maybe pull a Chris McCandless and end our time together with a drink before disappearing.

*BLAM*

I was knocked onto my butt because inches in front of me was a giant black wolf, growling and angry. "Whoa there," I breathed, crawling around the wolf and slowly standing up. "You are one big wolf."

Are wolves like bears or muggers? If I back up slowly will they let me go...?

I heard it sniff me and saw it move closer. Maybe I can run and scream so the people with the fire will hear me. I'm just not going to think.

Using, probably, very idiotic judgement, I started sprinting towards the fire at a pace fueled entirely by the adrenaline pumping through my system.

My brain was only telling me only to run.

I could hear it's paws rhythmically hitting the sand, motivating me to move even faster. I was so close to that fire, I just needed a"Ahhhhhhh"

I let out a little brief shout before my jaw snapped shut as I tumbled head over feet a few times over the sand, no doubt ruining the bandage Seth wrapped around my knee.

God damn it.

This is it, I was now going to be eaten by a giant wolf. I would like to say, in my mental monologue, fuck you Zachary and your phony allegiance, but thanks for letting me crash at your house. I held my breath and waited,

but that moment never came. So I looked around, and to my surprise I saw no wolf.

Well. It's official, I'm nuts.

None the less, I was still cautious and ran up the hill towards the fire pit. As I approached closer I heard a few people's voices, and as I got even closer I realized there were tons of people there.

There was a clearing in the woods with a large bonfire in the center and around the bonfire were log benches, assorted camping chairs, and one plastic picnic table. With the exception of less than five people, of all them were those tall humungonauts.

One of them spotted me through the woods and quickly stood up, pushing a girl behind him. "Who are you?" the guy demands, sniffing the air. All the others turn to look at me, now aware that there was an outsider present.

"I'm 5'3, it's not like I could kill any of you, relax," I tease. This remark however made the guy in front of me tense up.

Before I could make any other verbal mistakes, Seth runs over to me and picks me up in a big bear hug. "OHHHkay," I gasp, not expecting the affection.

He was moving to nuzzle his face into my neck, but jerked back suddenly and set me down.

"Uh Seth, do you know her?" a different guy ask. I recognized this other guy as Paul, the one who flirted with me at the dock.

"He kinda knows me," I chime in. "His mom thinks I'm a one night stand."

Everyone snickered and the tension eased, though when I looked up I saw Seth blushing.

"Do you wanna have something to eat?" he offers, putting his arm around my shoulders and not really giving me much choice but to follow him to the picnic table.

Seth loaded a plate full of burgers and mac'n'cheese onto his plate. "So, umm, this is kinda a weird question, but, have you, ummm, have you been around any really pale people?"

I raised my right eyebrow and put a serving of mac n' cheese on my plate. "That is a weird question. Why do you ask?"

He looked at me again, waiting for me to answer the question. "Actually something misfortunate happened the other day involving a few pale people," I admitted. "but things've turned out pretty sweet since then."

Seth and I sat down on a log bench by the bonfire. "What happened?"

Before I could give him an answer, a shirtless guy ran to the camp. No one seemed to make a big fuss out of it, so I guessed it was because he was one of the tall guys. "Seth, who's that?"

Seth finished chewing his burger and pointed to the guy who just came. "That's Sam, and the woman standing next to him is his fiancee Emily. The two of them open their house to us when we need it."

"Okay, I know that's Paul, but who's the guy who asked if you knew me?" I asked, taking my second bite of mac'n'cheese.

"How do you know Paul?" he asks, looking curious.

"He flirted with me after helping me dock my boat," I filled him in. "Are you good friends with Paul?"

"Not anymore," Seth chuckled, joking. "Anyways, the guy you saw was Jared, and that girl with him is his girlfriend Kim."

"Are they serious?"

Seth chuckled again and wrapped an arm loosely around my neck. "Very serious."

To save time, he named off the other people there, pointing to each of them. "Okay, there's Quil, my sister Leah, Jacob and his girlfriend Maggie, and Embry."

All of them seemed so close. It was effortless for them to get along like friends. "Are you guys all family?"

"In a sense. I'll tell you about it later," he promises me. "But back to my question: what happened with the pale people?"

"Nothing really, I just fainted and some pale Asian guy found me. This is guy Carlisle, his wife Esme took me from the Asian guy to Carlisle and they gave me some fresh clothes and are giving my boat a tune up," I smiled at the end. "Cressida really needed one too. I was worried how she'd fa-"

Seth cut me off "You fainted in front of a..are you okay?" he looked me down, scanning for something.

"I'm all good, nothing's wrong. Just a few bumps and bruises, but that's nothing new." I waved off the concern. "Thanks for caring though. I think the last group of people I got attached to was this family in western Mexico."

"That's right, you've been traveling," Seth remembers. "Why did you pick La Push to stop?"

"My brother Zach lives here," I responded. "And I need a quick break from the sea before I don't get to see land for four a half months." A grin spread across my face by the end of the sentence. "I gotta tour Asia."

Seth's content look lost itself for a moment. He looked like he was about to say something, but was interrupted by my phone going off.

"What's up?" I answered.

"Riley, it's Zachary. Leave La Push. Get on that boat of yours and sail as much as you can tonight and tomorrow. NOW."


End file.
